Positive Money response to Lloyds Bank profits

February 22, 2023 

Lloyds Bank has today announced that its pre-tax profits for 2022 were £6.9 billion, and that it has increased its bonus pool by 12% to £446 million – the largest it has been in four years. 

The results follow news that NatWest, Barclays and HSBC made a collective £26.6 billion of profits for 2022. Overall, the ‘Big Four’ banks’ bonus pools total £5.4 billion, following the government’s removal of the cap on bankers’ bonuses late last year.  

This, coupled with the source of these profits being largely due to interest rate rises from the Bank of England, has renewed calls from Positive Money for a windfall tax on banks’ excess profits. 

They are directing supporters to a petition, calling for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to introduce  this tax.

Fran Boait, executive director at Positive Money, commented: 

“Banks have clearly made the most of the government’s removal of the cap on the bonuses they can pay out. But why should this sector get a pay boost from unearned windfalls when those who kept us afloat through the pandemic are denied the same?

“While the government harps on about the necessity of tax hikes and public service cuts, and how it can’t afford public sector pay rises, these profits represent billions of pounds of taxable income staring them in the face. 

“We must give the Chancellor no place to hide from this – the calls for a windfall tax on banks’ excess profits grow louder by the day. It’s time this government started listening.”

Notes 

• Lloyds Bank’s announcement this morning can be found here: https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/investors.html 

• NatWest’s 2022 results: https://investors.natwestgroup.com/results-centre  

• Barclays’ 2022 results: https://home.barclays/content/dam/home-barclays/documents/investor-relations/ResultAnnouncements/2022FullYearResults/20230215-BPLC-FY22-RA.pdf 

• HSBC’s 2022 results: https://www.hsbc.com/investors/results-and-announcements/all-reporting/annual-results-2022-quick-read  

• Banks are set to reap huge excess profits, driven by the Bank of England paying higher interest rates to the tune of tens of billions of pounds a year on risk-free reserves. For more information on the case for a windfall tax on banks, see: http://positivemoney.org/wp-content/uploads/Bank-windfall-tax-briefing-2.pdf 

About 

Positive Money campaigns for a money and banking system which supports a fair, democratic and sustainable economy. Set up in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Positive Money is a not-for-profit company funded by charitable trusts and foundations, as well as small donations from its network of over 65,000 supporters. www.positivemoney.org

For more information or to arrange a briefing/interview with a spokesperson, please contact press@positivemoney.org.uk.

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